IELTS READING
To access skills like finding gist, extracting main ideas, finding minute details, understanding writer’s opinion and purpose; IELTS Reading Test is conducted.
IELTS Reading Test is different for Academic IELTS and General IELTS. However, both have some common features. The time for the reading test is 60 minutes; no extra time is given. You have to attempt and write your answers in your answer sheet in these 60 minutes only. The test comprises of 40 questions; each correct answer carries 1 mark. There is no negative marking in the IELTS reading test, so we recommend you to attempt all questions.
Academic IELTS Reading
Each section of academic reading comprises of one long comprehensive passage. Candidates have to read these passages using different techniques to anser the questions based on these passages. Text have been written specifically for the general audience and are based on topics of general interest. Passages are selected from journals, magazines, newspapers, and books. Some passages also include non-verbal things like graphs, diagrams and so on. Glossary is given for any technical term used in the text.
Marks to Band Conversion
| Correct Answers | Band Scores |
|---|---|
| 39-40 | 9 |
| 37-38 | 8.5 |
| 35-36 | 8 |
| 33-34 | 7.5 |
| 30-32 | 7 |
| 27-29 | 6.5 |
| 23-26 | 6 |
| 19-22 | 5.5 |
| 15-18 | 5 |
| 13-14 | 4.5 |
| 10-12 | 4 |
| 8-9 | 3.5 |
| 6-7 | 3 |
| 4-5 | 2.5 |
General IELTS Reading
The first section is further divided into two or three short passages instead of one long passage. Topics are based on daily life. Section 2 comprises two factual text passages, mostly focusing on work-related discussions. The third and last section consists of a single passage which is long and complex as compared to the first two sections. Passages are taken from magazines, notices, advertisements, official documents, company handbooks, books, and newspapers.
Marks to Band Conversion
| Correct Answers | Band Scores |
|---|---|
| 40 | 9 |
| 39 | 8.5 |
| 37-38 | 8 |
| 36 | 7.5 |
| 34-35 | 7 |
| 32-33 | 6.5 |
| 30-31 | 6 |
| 27-29 | 5.5 |
| 23-26 | 5 |
| 19-22 | 4.5 |
| 15-18 | 4 |
| 12-14 | 3.5 |
| 9-11 | 3 |
| 6-8 | 2.5 |
Types of Questions in IELTS Reading
It is very important to understand the type of questions in the IELTS Reading test.
In these types of questions, candidates have to select the best suitable answer from the various options. Mostly four options are given, and you are asked to choose a single option as your answer to the question. However, sometimes you have to select more than one option from 5 or 7 alternatives. Read the questions and options carefully.
Candidates need to fill the blanks in the sentences by using some key information from the passage. Pay attention to the given instructions. Word limit is given for every question or group of questions. Write your answer as per the word limit because writing more words means your answer is wrong. Read the sentence carefully and mark the keywords. Focus on the word before and after the blank to locate your answer in the passage. These words are the same or synonymous with the word in the passage.
Short answer questions are just like the blanks. Read the question carefully before locating your answer and take care of the word limit.
In these questions, candidates are asked whether given statements match the information in the passage. These questions follow the order of information in the text. It means the answer to the first question lies before the answer to the second question in the passage.
It is of utmost importance to understand the difference between true, false, and not given. Sometimes, true is called as yes and false as no. Take care to use the correct word in your answers otherwise, it will be considered as wrong.
True means the information in the statement completely matches with the information in the passage.
False means the information in the statement is the opposite of the information given in the passage.
Not given means there is no information in the passage about the information in the statement.
In these questions, candidates have to match headings to the paragraphs. You have to find the gist of the paragraph and find the most suitable heading that matches with that paragraph. Mostly, you will get the idea by just reading the first two-three lines of the paragraph.
Candidates need to match the information or key features with the paragraph. Examples include matching the features with the advertisements or matching events to the festivals. Sometimes, some options from the question are extra, or you can use some options more than once, or the same paragraph matches the two options. Instructions will inform candidates if you can use the options more than once.
In matching sentence endings, the first half of a sentence is given, and you have to complete the sentence using some information from the passage. Sometimes, there are extra options, read instructions for this. Questions follow the same order as the information in the passage, which means the answer to the first question is before the answer to the second question.
Sentence completion is very similar to the matching sentence endings. Read the instructions carefully and take care of the word limit.